Process of making patent-leather shoes.



J. AL KELLY. PROCESS OEMAKING PATENT LEATHER SHOES. APPLICATION FILED JULY 11, 1914.

1,111 5,680. Patented Nov. 3, 19141.-

UNITED STATES, PATENT OFFICE.

JonN A. KELLY, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PROCESS OF MAKING PATENT-LEATHER SHOES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

Application filed July 11 1914. Serial No. 850,288.

It is well known to those skilled in the art that one of the serious problems connected with enamel coated boots and shoes is to preserve the coating free from cracks and blemishes, but this is especially so in the process of lasting and otherwise manipulating the article during the manufacture thereof. The enamel coating is of such peculiar character that it will crack in comparatively n'ioderate temperatures, as during cold weather, and even during the manufacture of the shoe when it is carried from one room to another or from one floor to another in'the factory.

In the manufacture of footwear from enamel coated material it is usual to immerse the toe portion of the upper prior to. lasting in water for the purpose of soften-1 ing the material so as to facilitate lasting the upper; sometimes the same result is attained by steaming the upper. When the upper is lasted the toe portion thereof is usually wiped in by a machine known in the trade as a wiper, but owing to the strain imposed on the toe portion of. the upper during such lasting operation the enamel coating at the toe portion becomes cracked, it being estimated that about 90% of all patent leather shoes are defaced during manufacture. The cracking of the coating is pron u1n(.'e(lly observable subsequent to lasting the upper, and it is due, first, to the strain or pull upon the upper, to the drying out of the material previously moistened to facilitate lasting, and to a marked extentto the contact of the air with the enamel coating, such air contact with the moistened enamel resulting in line blemishes referred to as air cracks At times it is observable that an enamcl coated shoe will leave the lasting machine ap .irently in good condition, but after several days following the.

lasting operation the coating, having been exposed to the air, will pronouncedly crack and blemish, this being noticeably the case when the shoe is under strain or before removing it from the last. As previously noted herein, the enamel will crack when,

the shoe is subject to temperature changes or to air contact during the manufacture thereof, and it is customer to place the shoes in warm rooms in or or to minimize the serious fault of cracking in the enamel.

It is apparent that enamel shoes with cracked toe portions are not merchantable articles, hence it becomes necessary to refinish the shoe at the factory" and before shipping it to the. dealers. Such refinishin is done as follows :Afworlnnan scours 0 the enamel at the cracked toe portion of the. upper so as to smooth down the surface of the underlying leather. Then an enamel filler is applied to the scoured part of the shoe, and as it is not possible to apply the filler by a brush it is the usual practice for the Workman to Wrap material around his fingers, saturate such material with the liquid filler, and .to rub such liquid fillerthoroughly upon the scoured leather toe portion. It is apparent that this requires skilled labor, and involves time and expense, experience having shown that expert workmen are not able to refinish more than fifty pairs of shoes per day. Usually, two or more coatings of the liquid filler are required, and it must be applied uniformly and with exercise of good udgment, for the reason that if the coating should be too thin the enamel will fade out,flbu t;if it is too thick the enamel will be sticky; particularly in damp Weather, as a result of which there will adhere to the refinished coating the paper or other material in which the article is incased. All this increfises the cost for the reason that the enamel material and the flow material are expensive, and the labor cost is no inconsiderable item, for the reason that skilled labor must be used, and at times such labor is not available, thus seriously hampering the shipment of goods at a time when a demand exists therefor. It should be stated that after applying the fillermaterial in refinishing the scoured part of the toe, it is customary to ap ly a flow material, such as alcohol which is rubbed by hand over the enamel so as to smooth and brighten up the surface. v

' From what has been said as tothe disadvantages inherent in the manufacture of enamel coated footwear it is readily understood and appreciated that the manufacture.

is more or less costly and the product is not free from defects.

The purpose of my invention is to over-- come the foregoing and other eibjections by an improvement in the art which entirely overcomes all tendency of the enamel coating to crack at the toe portion of the upper during lasting thereof or subsequently to such. lasting, so as to entirel; avoid and dispense with the operationeof' refinishing the enamel material, and to accomplish this at a substantial saving in the labor and material required in such refinishing operation, andto produce a superior finished article.v Broadly stated, my improvement inthe art of making enamel coated footwear consists in the use of a. protective covering for the toe portion of, the upper, Which covering remains in position during the operation of lasting the upper and preferably during the subsequent manipulation of the article until it is finally completed and the last removed, such protective covering operating in a twofold capacity of taking the strain of]? the enamel coatin at the toe of the upper when the latter 1S drawn tightly around the last and as a means of keeping the coating from con-, tact with the air during the tingthe up or to the required form or shape, where y crackin of the enamel coating is wholly precluded? The preferred mode of procedure is as follows :Prior to placing the upper on ya last, a suitably sha ed piece of material, such as rubber fabric, is placed upon the toe' portion. of the upper and in contact with the enamel coating thereof, such math at rubber fabric isused, a

terial being united to the upper. Assuming other toolis' run over the fabric, the effect of which is twofold; first, the fabric adheres to the enamel coating and,second, the latter is softenedto an appreciable extent so astoreiider-it pliable and'suitable'for lasting' wi'thoutbeing compelled to resort to the usual expedient either of saturating'the upper by immersing it in water or by steamlng it.

usual way and y the usual means, but at this, time the utilityo'f the fabric serving as takes the strain OR the enamel coating but' r with the upper and it remains applied'thef'efl rial and it overcomes sharp wipers with such matenal, thus pre=' theprotective covering becomes the more apparent for the reason that it not only it prevents thefi wipers of the lasting machine from adhering to the enameled matedirect contact of the cluding c uttiiig of the enamel. which occasionallyv happens. Thefabric, is thus lasted eriod -of set a. hot 1ron or The upper is now lasted in the to during the subsequent manipulation of thearticle-or until the last is removed; The fabric thus protects the enamel coating during the period of drying the upper or of allowing the enamel to set, asa result of which the enamel is not cracked either during the lasting operation or by contact with the air during the setting of the enamel or by atmospheric changes. When the article is completed and the last removed, the next step is to remove the fabric covering, and

this is done by cutting it free from the sole.-

after which the upper at the toe is cleaned by applying a solvent such as benzin to remove the rubber'material of the fabric, thus wholly cleaning the upperby eliminating the rubber adhesive from the enamel coating so that the wrapping paper will not adhere thereto. Not only will the enamel not crack during the operation of lasting the upper. nor when the upper is exposed to the air, but this objectionable condition will not arise after the shoe is completed and the protective fabric is removed, for the reason that the upper will dry and the enamel will set" before the cover is taken off, as a result of "which cracking cannot take place for the reason that the enamel is in -a permanently,

ioa

dotted line 2 2 of Fig. 1, and said view showingthe upper, the linlng therefor, an extra layer at the toe portion to cover the upper proper and the rubber coated fabric applied to the ena-mel'coated surface of a part of the upper. Fig. 3 is a perspective.

view of the lasted upper and with the protecting fabric retained on the toe portion of said upper and lasted therewith, Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the toe portion of a completed shoe but with the fabric applied thereto. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section through the shoe of Fig. 4

with the last removed but with the protective fabric-still applied to the toe portion of the upper, it being understood that when the shoe is com leted said protective fabric is-cut off and t e enamel coated surface of the shoe is cleaned in a-suitable way.

The up er A is made in-the usual way, a substantla part of said upper being composegl of enamel coated leather or other materia Prior to lasting the upper, a PlOttfF tive fabric B is applied to the enamel coated material of said upper orto a part only of fabric B is a rubber fabric or a fabric backed by rubber, and it is united under heat and pressure to the enamel coating of the upper at the toe. portion thereof. Prior to lasting the upper the toe portion is spread out or flattened, and the rubber surface of fabric layer B is laid upon the enamel coating of the upper at said toe portion. Thereupon a hot iron is run over the fabric, the efiect of which; is to soften the rubber and the enamel coating, whereupon the adhesively coated fabric and the enamel coated upper are intimately united by the pressure and heat. While the fabric and the upper are in a relativcl y warm or heated condition, the upper is lasted in the usual way. As is well known, the lasting operation consists of imposing an insole upon a last, drawing the upper around the last and the insole so as to fasten the upper and insole together bythe temporary lasting tacks, and then lasting the upper, such lasting operation being performed wholly by machinery, or partly by hand and partly by machinery. In carrying out the invention as practised by me the lasting of the toe portion of the upper is effected by a lasting machine embodying wipers which engage with the inturned lasted toe portion of the upper so as to draw said too portion tightly around the last. During the lasting of the upper with the fabric B in position thereon, the Wipers of the lasting machine are in contact with the fabric B, but said Wipers do not come into contact with the enamel coated surface" of the upper, so that the fabric protects the enameled upper from being cut or injured by the action of the wipers, and the w ipers cannot stick or adhere to the enamel coating during the lasting operation. The fabric covering thus remains in position upon the too portion of the upper durin the operation of'pulling or strainin t e upper in order to last 'it, and this abric covering thus takes the strain oil the enamel coating during the lasting operation. Subsequent to the lasting operation the fabric covering B remains attached to the shoe until the manufacture of the shoe is completed and the last is removed. The fabric covering should now be removed, and this is accomplished in any suitable or desired way. The fabric is cut centrally down to the sole C and the edges of the fabric are cut close to the sole or the upper so that no fragment of the fabric will be visible. When using rubber coated fabric as a protective medium for the enamel coated upper it is found that a thin layer of rubber will adhere to the enamel coating subsequent to cutting off the fabric, but this rubber coating may easily be eliminated by the application of a suitable sol:- vfint, such as benzin, thereby cleaning the s cc.

From the prior description it is apparent that according to my mode of procedure the toe portion of the upper is lasted in such a Way as to wholly preclude the enamel from cracking'during such lasting operation and subsequent to the lasting operation the fabric covering remains in position upon the lasted shoe so as to protect the enamel coating from contact with air fora suflicient length of time to allow the shoe to mold or shape itself to the last and to enable the enamel to become set and hard, whereby the fabric covering acts to preclude cracking of the enamel during the. period following the lasting operation.

Although I' have described that the protective fabric is applied to the toe portion of the upper during lasting, it is apparent that the principle of my invention may be extended to other parts of the enamel coated upper. Furthermore, any material suitable for the purposes of a protective covering may be employed.

My invention overcomes a most serious fault in the manufacture of enamel coated shoes and it enables a superior article to be produced with less labor and with material economy.

Having thus fully described the invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure by and attachinga fabric to the enamel coated.

surface fortaling off the strain due to lasting the upper, a

3. In the lirt' of making enamel coated footwear, the process which comprises attaching a fabric to the enamel coated surface of the upper, and subsequently lasting said upper with the fabric inzcontact therewith,

sail fabric operating to relieve the enamel coating from strain due to the lasting and, also, to preclude contact of air with said enamel coating-subsequent to lasting.

(t. In. the art of making enamel coated footwear, the process which comprises attaching "a layer of fabric in contact with the enamel coated surface of the upper, thereafter lasting the upper and said fabric simultaneously whereby the attached fabric covers the enamel coated surface and is in contact therewith during said lasting .oper- 'ation, and finally detaching the fabric from the upper. I

5. In the art of-making enamel coated footwear the process which comprises ap-,

per becomes set removing the fabric, whereby the. enalnel 'is precluded from cracking by the strain imposed on the upper by last-,

a ing thereof and by contact of air with said enamel during the setting of the upper.

6. In the art of making enamel coated footwear the process which comprises posi' tioning an adhesively coated fabric upon the enamel coating of an upper, unitingssaid under heat and pressure to said upper, 1asting the upper and the fabric, retaining the fabric in position upon the upper for an appreciable length oftime subsequent to the lasting, and then, removing the fabric from theupper. a

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN ll. KELLY.

Witnesses:

H. I. BERNHARD, M. C. RODRIGUEZ.

Copies 01' this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. 0. v i 

